Her Knight, His Princess
by SnazzyGambol
Summary: After the defeat of Salem, Weiss Schnee returned home to Atlas with Jaune Arc, famous Hunter and long time secret boyfriend to the Schnee heiress, turned CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. Now, Jaune has used the guise of being the girls bodyguard to allow his and hers secret relationship to flourish for years. Though, how much longer can they keep up the ruse?
1. Chapter 1 - The Dream

She was back there.

All the fire and the flames, the cries of the helpless.

The sight of the Grimm rampaging.

The sounds of gunfire and her friends fighting beside her.

Weiss was back at the Battle of Beacon.

She couldn't experience this again, it wasn't happening. This was all some kind of terrible trick, some ungodly nightmare. All she could do was clutch her head and scream.

And suddenly, she woke up, in a cold sweat.

Between her hard breathing and the sweat beading down her forehead, she felt like she had just run a mile. Looking around she slowly took in her surroundings that were hidden by her panic and the darkness of the night. She was back in her bed, in her families house in Atlas, surrounded by the familiar blues and whites of her time before Beacon, before she had seen first hand the destruction of the academy, and before her and the rest of team RWBY had killed Salem and sent her lackeys running, years later.

It had been years since teams RWBY and JNPR had defeated Salem and rescued what remained of Pyrrha Nikos, and Weiss still had the nightmares. Clutching herself as she sat up in bed, she familiarized herself with all the colors of her childhood until she landed on a stark contrast of the gentle icy blues and snowy whites.

A tuft of unscrupulous blonde hair on the pillow beside her, belonging to one special knight. Her knight.

Granted, he wasn't in a suit of shining armor like the story books told, but she was fine with him being wrapped in her bedsheets, as long as he was there. And maybe a set of pajamas she had bought him to replace his onesie lost at Beacon.

Unbeknownst to the world, Jaune Arc, legendary Huntsman, and Weiss Schnee, now current head of the SDC, had begun to finally let their relationship flourish when he had offered to move back to Atlas, under the guise of her personal bodyguard, after the defeat of Salem.

Once the Queen of the Grimm, and driving force of Cinder and her henchmen, had been slain the teams parted ways for the most part.

Ruby decided to continue traveling as a Huntress, accepting contracts wherever she went, occasionally checking up on her teammates.

Blake had decided to give things with Sun a chance and move back to Menagerie, stomping out what was left of the White Fang.

Yang went back to Patch and was now offering her services to Signal Academy, not only as a part time teacher, but as a good natured Huntress looking to help out her childhood town.

Ren and Nora went back to their childhood village to rebuild and offer a new beacon of hope to humanity in the form of a rebuilt village and healthy trading point for travelers.

And Pyrrha, well, she wasn't doing much moving period. After being used as a human conduit to help harness the Maidens powers, and being almost stripped of her humanity in the process, Pyrrha had been sent into a trauma induced coma. Although that didn't mean she wasn't being looked after by the finest medical care the SDC credit card could buy.

As a sort of thanks to her bodyguard and boyfriend, Weiss offered to set Pyrrha up with a state of the art hospital room in Atlas, close enough to Weiss so she could monitor her treatment, and close enough for Jaune to check in on her.

Admittedly Weiss had been hesitant, caring for the girl that had once been head over heels for her now long time boyfriend was a bit…odd to her. Though, seeing the boy care for his previous teammate day in and day out, put her at ease, remembering how much she cared for her teammates, and loved them as though they where her own family.

Weiss was still recounting all the events of the previous years when she was broken from her cold sweat by a warm and calloused hand on her thigh. She looked over to see that the blond tuft of hair had rolled itself over to produce the handsome face and caring deep blue eyes she had fallen in love with so many years ago.

"Bad dream Ice Queen?" Jaune asked.

"Yes" She admitted, relaxing but still clutching her arms. "But I think I'm better" she said.

"You think? Or you know?" He said, looking at her lovingly, trying his best to comfort his best friend and girlfriend.

Weiss slipped her hand under his and gently squeezed it. She could feel all the calluses and ridges of his hand from all his hours of training. She ran her thumb across his knuckles, feeling all the rough skin worn down from constant use of his gloves. She could make out the slightest signs of veins protruding under the skin and followed them up his arm, eventually reaching his shoulders and then his face which always seemed to bare a goofy smile, suited just for her.

Weiss held his hand and lay back down on her bed, sliding over she gently squeezed herself up against his chest and listened to his heartbeat, all while never letting go. Weiss slowly let go and wrapped her arms around him, fully enveloping herself into him.

"I know" said Weiss.

"That's good" Jaune said, gently holding the back of her head while wrapping and arm around her waist, planting his a kiss on her forehead and his chin on top of her head.

"That's good" And they drifted back off to sleep together..


	2. Chapter 2 - The Morning After

Jaune woke, stretching his back, he familiarized himself with all the sights and sounds of another morning in the Schnee mansion. The mansion always seemed cold to Jaune, the icy walls, the cold tile flooring, even the people. This morning seemed colder however.

Jaune had been worried. Weiss seemed to be having more and more nightmares lately, and it was taking a toll on her that only he, as her lover, could notice. He rolled over to check on the girl, but only found a tangle of bedsheets in her place. He understood. It was like her to get up and start her morning routines without disturbing him, and he figured he might as well do the same.

Rolling out of bed as he did most mornings, Jaune went through his usual routine of showering and preparing for another day disguised as the girls friend and bodyguard. Initially he didn't know how this ruse would work out, wether it would be questioned by their friends, or found out by some snooping reporter he couldn't predict. In the end though this allowed him to stay close to the girl he loved, and Pyrrha's healthcare here in Atlas gave him a perfect cover as to why he stayed so close all the time. A friend and fellow Hunstman, offering protection to the distraught heiress who was providing care for his former teammate. A foolproof plan conjured up the self proclaimed fool himself.

Moving into the adjacent room Jaune found the room he had set up for himself in the mansion, after Weiss told him it could compromise them if they were found sleeping in the same bed. A rule that both him and her decided to ignore some nights. He walked over to the walk in closest that housed his armor and all to familiar black hoodies. He was always surprised how long the armor had held up, even with the improvements he'd made using Pyrrha's old set of armor. Who knew Mistrali metal was so tough?

Jaune snapped from his ego stroking thought process to the sight of the girl he loved walking in on him from the main hall door, finally buckling his chest armor he grabbed his sword and tucked it into his sheath.

"Good Morning Weiss, sleep well?" He asked standing tall.

"Jaune, you can drop the act, I made sure no one followed me or is to bother us" The girl said

"Oh thank Oum" He said, giving up his posture to slump slightly as Weiss closed the door, walking to meet him.

"I hate this act more and more everyday" He continued taking her hands in his.

"I know you do Jaune, believe me I wish we could be open with everyone but we have to think how it would affect the bigger picture. Me and you being together in the public eye would bring too much drama" she said, stepping closer to him "Especially with how long we've been together."

"You're right, I like our privacy as is" He said "And I don't think publicly coming out as the boyfriend of former Huntress and CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss Schnee, would afford me anymore" He finished jokingly moving so they were nearly touching.

"Good point, so let's take advantage of all the time we have alone" She said moving to kiss him "Starting know" He was about to follow her when they where interrupted by the sound of the hall door opening.

Jaune shoved Weiss slightly greeting the person at the door. "Klein!" He said enthusiastically "Good morning!" He continued slightly worried he had seen the exchange.

"Sorry to interrupt Mr. Arc, I was just looking for Weiss" The butler politely stated,

"Yes she's here, she was just telling me about her plans for today, nothing more" He rambled

"Well if I didn't interrupt anything I was just here to offer Weiss breakfast" He continued, producing a silver platter of French toast and orange juice.

Flustered from being pulled away in the heat of the moment Weiss could barely respond.

"I um…thank you Klein" She said, trying to conceal the red on her cheeks and ears, before Jaune grabbed a piece of the toast. "Well I think we have everything solved, I'll meet you down the hall Weiss" The boy said before leaving, the sound of clinking armor following him.

Weiss grabbed the glass of orange juice while Klein watched the young man walk out and close the door behind him with a click. "You're terrible at hiding this, you know?" The man said. Weiss finished the glass and sat down on the bed with her head in her hands "I know" She said.

"Then if I may ask, why continue?" He said trying to comfort her.

"Klein, it would ruin us" She said "Being the head of the largest dust company on Remnant I barely have any privacy as it is" She said, not looking up "My relationship with him is the only source of privacy I have" She lifted up her head to look at Klein with wet eyes.

Klein moved to comfort her "My little snowflake, it seems like keeping this a secret is putting more pressure on you than being open about it. My advice would be to come out with it, and if the public seem to have a problem they can answer to the man armed with the sword who's currently awaiting your company" He finished wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Thank you Klein" she said standing "You always seem to have the best advice for a butler"

"Well" he said standing "it wasn't a requirement for the job, but I figured it would come in handy. Now go on, it seems you have a date" And he opened the door for her.

"Thank you again Klein" she said before rushing down the hall.

Klein closed the door and watched the girl run down the hall. "Oh what it's like to be young and in love."


	3. Chapter 3 - Out and About

Catching up with her Knight, Weiss found him fiddling with the straps of his armor. She'd always wondered why he had bothered to keep it even after she offered to get him a new set after seeing how beat up it was upon arriving in Atlas. He'd managed to convince her how sentimental the armor was to him, but that didn't stop her from buying up every last Pumpkin Petes hoodie just for him, to which he begrudgingly agreed. Seeing as he wasn't getting any closer, Weiss decided to grab the leather strap and buckle and finish the job for him.

"Thanks" He said sheepishly.

"Under the watchful eyes of my father I always assumed I'd be helping straighten my boyfriends suit and tie, not his armor plating and hoodie" She said finishing the buckle "But this will do just fine" She said with a smile, putting her hands behind her back.

"So what are our plans for today?" He asked.

"I thought we were discussing those in the bedroom earlier? Or were you thinking of something else?" She asked coyly

Jaune grabbed Weiss's chin with his thumb and forefinger shaking it "Ha ha, very funny" He said letting go and strolling with her. "How could you know what I was thinking about unless you thought the exact same thing?" He asked.

Weiss could feel her ears heat up slightly "Dolt" she said.

"Aww you're cute when your mad" He teased causing Weiss to turn an embarrassing shade of red.

Jaune and Weiss walked the palace for a bit, buying time for Weiss to cool off and recollect herself. Jaune had gotten used to the rhythmic clacking of his hard boots against the floor before Weiss spoke.

"So what do we really want to do today, other than tease each other" She asked.

"Hey don't ask me, I'm just the bodyguard" He said shrugging

"That act may work on anyone else around her, but certainly not me" She stated

"Well there's a lot of things I want to do, including you, but having someone walk in on a kiss was bad enough" He stated, eliciting a sharp punch from Weiss.

"Glad to know teasing me is still on the list" She said.

"Oh that's the first one to get checked off on most days" Jaune said grinning slightly.

Just then Jaune's scroll buzzed in his pocket. Reaching and typing back quickly he seemed to have a slightly surprised face on. "How's going to the local Hunters outpost sound?" He asked, clearly hiding something.

"Sounds fine to me, why?" Weiss asked trying to figure out the boys schemes.

"No reason, no reason at all" He said.

"Jaune Arc, what are you hiding from me?" Weiss asked indignantly

"If I was hiding something you wouldn't even know because it would be on a high shelf somewhere, now let's get going" He said grabbing her and halfway dragging her out of the mansion doors.

Arriving at the Hunters outpost in the town, anyone would've thought it was just a three story hotel and bar scene, not a meet up and staging building for the toughest fighters mankind had ever trained. Compared against the brilliant whites and grays of Atlas, the old building looked a little more than out of place. Though the image on the outside portrayed a stark contrast to what lay inside. Inside those walls lay some of the most advanced technologies on Remnant, pair that with the multiple lifetimes of Hunter and Huntress knowledge that flowed through the walls with each person that visit, and you had one of the most unique buildings in the entire city of grays and whites to sit in. Not to mention the bar selection wasn't terrible either.

Weiss walked into the ruff looking building, drawing the attention of the many patrons of the building.

"This ain't a place for princesses" Said one of the older looking Huntsman standing up.

"You're right" Jaune said, stepping in behind Weiss "Now take a hike buddy."

The bar level of the building went deathly quite for a few seconds before sounds of laughter and cheering erupted. The man who'd called the girl out gave Jaune a pat on the shoulder and a slap on the back before walking out with his drink. Jaune had come to love the outpost, seeing that it was his and Weiss's escape from the confines of the mansion and upper class life. Jaune looked around at his second home, taking in all the stark contrasts to Atlas. The deep stained wood that lined the booths and made up the bar stools along with the rich red leather tacked onto the sets and the encompassing windows on the first floor allowing the room to flood with light from street level.

Weiss was busy talking with the bar tender and some patrons while Jaune grabbed them a corner booth. While Weiss was busy chatting, Jaune received another message from his conspirator.

"You two still there" The number asked.

"Of course, wouldn't miss this show for the world" He replied

"She doesn't know anything still. Does she?" The number pleaded

"Of course not" He replied back, shutting his scroll.

Weiss came back with two shallow glass cups of some dark liquid Jaune wasn't familiar with. Yet anyways. She sat down and scooted into the corner booth closer to him. Being in such a rough area, it was easy to convince people in the bar with the bodyguard ruse and thus was easier to be closer to Jaune.

"So, what exactly did you drag me here for?" Weiss asked.

"Correction, I didn't drag you, I pulled you." He said "And the reason I brought you here was because someone wanted to see you"

"And who might that be?" She asked, before she was cut off.

She could hear her before she could even see her.

Her name being shouted.

A gust of wind.

A streak of red, and suddenly a much smaller but faster weight collided with her own in the booth.

Weiss shot up ready to berate whoever it was that had embarrassed her, before she meet the silver puppy dog eyes of her former team leader.


	4. Chapter 4 - Old Friends

"So this is what you drug me out of the mansion for" Weiss said chuckling.

"Correction, again, no dragging, only pulling" Jaune said.

"It sounds like you're complaining about our little team meet up Weiss" Ruby said.

"Of course not, as long as you don't spill my drink" She said.

Weiss looked over the younger Huntress who was quite enjoying herself and observed all the effects that the last few years had taken on her and her, still slightly childish, fashion sense. Now she had grown out her hair and braided it down the top of her back and threw it over her right shoulder, the curls of her hair not bound by the braid were licking at the sides of her face. She still wore the same outfit from her time wandering with Jaune though she had swapped out the cream colored undershirt for a deep silver one, one that seemed to compliment her eyes willingly, and also filled her form nicely. Ruby had obviously grown up since Beacon and it was showing in her wide hips and rather curvy posture, though Weiss doubted the girl could beat her in a form contest, and she had Jaune to attest to that.

"So why did you stop in anyway?" Weiss asked.

"What? I can't come see my besty and her bodyguard?" Ruby said.

"Well usually wherever you go, some kind of fight or party follow so I'm not exactly sure what our odds are" The girl replied.

"Yeah, about that" Jaune scratched his head "I think I know our odds on that" He finished "You wanna tell her or should I" the boy asked Ruby.

"Go ahead Vomit boy" She teased.

"Well, Ruby…kinda wants to get the team back together."

It took the heiress a few seconds to process the words that had slipped from her secret lovers mouth. The team? Back together? Around her and Jaune's home? The home that her and Jaune had…spread their love out onto almost every flat surface. Weiss should not be getting flustered.

"Oh I knew you'd love it Weiss, look how excited you are!" Ruby squealed, denying her older appearance.

"Yes..yes, excited. I'm so glad to be getting the team back together." She said taking a long swig from her drink.

Ruby wrapped an arm around Weiss's shoulder "Just think about, team RWBY, back at it again. And in a couple of days I'll have you saying 'wow that Ruby girl is still really cool and I love being her friend'" She said smiling wider.

Weiss chuckled "Well that does sound fun. How long until everyone arrives?"

"A couple of days" Ruby replied "Yang is planning on meeting Blake and flying here with her, she's leaving Sun on Menagerie to help run the island for a bit."

"Oh" Weiss dead panned. "Yeah, that's what I said" Ruby added.

"Well" the heiress said "That'll make it easier to find rooms for you all without Sun and Blake earning a few noise complaints"

"Yeah about that" Jaune cut in "I kinda offered for them…to stay with us"

"Excuse me?" Weiss said.

"Jaune figured that you two had enough rooms in that fancy mansion of yours that the team could take up one or two" Ruby explained.

"Well it seems like you two obviously have everything figured out here, when's the meet up then?"

"About two weeks from now" Jaune replied finishing his drink.

"Well then, that gives me and Jaune just enough time to make some living arrangements" Weiss said "I'm sure we have an extra bed for you until the rest of the team gets here"

"No need" The Huntress said "I've got a room here, but I'll drop by in the next few days to help arrange everything and drop my stuff off. You can only go so long as a Huntress without running water and a clothes dryer" And she finished, standing along with her teammates, finishing her drink as well.

"Sounds great to me" Weiss said hugging Ruby "Just give me and Jaune a few days to get everything together"

"Sounds awesome. And Weiss" Ruby grabbed her before she left "It was good to see you"

"You too Ruby" Weiss retorted

Walking out of the outpost, Weiss seized Jaune's arm in a vice grip leading him home.

"It seems we have a bit to talk about" Weiss said, seething.


	5. Quick Update

Hey guys it's Gambol here. Just wanted to quickly update you guys on some things.

First off I'm not sure if there will be a regular upload schedule. With school starting August 28 and the Varsity Footbal season starting soon (wow an athlete that writes Fanfic, that's not some stupid movie trope at all) it's hard finding time to actually sit down and write whole chapters, but for now I'm slowly writing a bit more each day instead of just writing the whole thing like I usually do over a day or night. Plus, these chapters are starting to get longer (I.e. 3-4K plus words) so it's kind of hard to really get into the minds of each character when writing, which is what I normally do to make the interactions and conversations halfway believable.

Good news is, I got my school laptop back and am able to actually write properly instead of relishing everything to my phone like I've been doing. This might sorta fix the uploading debacle since it's hard to type 3K word chapters on a screen that's roughly the size of my hand (who woulda thunk it).

This update is by no means saying that I've stopped writing AT ALL, I'm actually halfway through the next chapter while writing this. So all of you that are following, have no fear.

Also thanks for all the favorites and follows so far too, it makes me feel good knowing that people actually care about this and want more. I just feel like there isn't enough Jaune X Weiss out there that isn't her verbally abusing him and him being completely blind to it.

As for now all I can do is write. See you guys in the next chapter.

-Gambol


	6. Chapter 5 - Rise and Fall

Weiss threw open the door to the mansion and huffed inside. Jaune knew how mad Weiss could get, but this, this seemed to be a whole different side of the girl he loved. Jaune just stood there in the living room, absorbing the anger that seemed to radiate from Weiss. Weiss walked about in her long blue evening gown, the swishing of its delicate fabric following her about, before she sat down on the long, ivory white couch with her head in her hands. Jaune moved over and sat beside her in an attempt to comfort her before being stopped.

"How?" She said quietly.

"What?" He asked.

"How. How are we going to keep this up much longer?" She finished.

"What do you mean Weiss?"

At that the Schnee got indignant and stood up wildly, almost shouting "I mean how long until someone finds out? How long until this isn't just between us anymore? How long until I have nothing of privacy left to enjoy? With them being here someone is going to find something and everything is going to be over Jaune! And I don't want that!" She said, stifling tears.

Weiss was in a flurry of confusion and anger at the moment, and nothing was going to stop her. "I am tired of my entire life being thrust into the public eye Jaune, I simply want this one thing, just this one thing to share between us, and no one else. My teammates finding out could be the end of all of this Jaune" She said sitting down "And I'm afraid of that" She sobbed, drawing Jaune in.

"Ice Queen, why are you worried about this? You really think your friends would just go berzerk about me and you dating? That's insane." He said, causing Weiss to draw her head up.

Jaune rubbed the small of her back whilst gently holding his hand in hers on the couch.

"Weiss, you fought with your team through life and death situations. You've faced countless challenges that other people, other lesser people, would have died from. These girls, that team, is your family. I'd expect you to trust them with this much more than anyone else in the world." He finished.

"But what about-" She said

"What about nothing" Jaune cut her off. "We will burn those bridges when we get there, and until then you can put away the lighter."

"Do you really think our friends would sell us out for a few laughs?" He asked, tilting her head up.

"Obviously not." She said in stifled sobs.

"Good, then there's nothing to worry about. If you trust them and they trust you, then there's nothing to fear" He said deliberately emphasizing the words.

"Listen" He said, placing a hand delicately on her cheek "When the time comes, and it will, we will tell them. Together. Ok?" He finished, driving home the point by kissing her cheek.

"Ok, together." She said blushing.

"Good" He said "Now, I've got a friend to see" And Jaune got up, preparing to walk out the door with Weiss following him.

Jaune noticed the girl "Don't you have some extra rooms to be finding?" He asked.

"I'll burn those bridges when I get there" She replied, taking his arm and walking out with him towards the hospital, grabbing her jacket on the way out.

Jaune always found the stroll to the hospital peaceful. It was like the calm before a storm, the storm of memories reminding himself how he had failed so many years ago to protect her. Even though he had been lectured countless times he still blamed himself for not fighting harder for her. For not searching harder. For everything.

But this time was different. He'd been thinking about what Weiss had said. How much longer could they actually keep this up? Who would find them out? The bigger question was how. They had both been so careful to cover their tracks, from the separate beds, to the distancing between each other, to not even telling their families about their love. Well almost no family. He knew Weiss was very cautious about who to trust with secrets, her only trusted close company being Klein who had practically raised the girl. Jaune kept up his act as the fool to make it seem he didn't know about Weiss's secret confidant. Jaune's confidant was an entirely different story. Jaune's confidant was currently in a coma in Atlas Memorial Hospital. Even from his early days at Beacon he'd trusted no one with the secret of his relationship, except for the girl that had once sought after her own love for him.

Jaune had felt terrible for this. Only after the fall of Beacon had Jaune actually found out how the girl felt about him, revealing her feelings in full in one last message before she faced Cinder, thinking she was to die. Even after she had been presumed dead, the thought still weighed on his mind. For now he had to push this to the back of his mind in order to keep his sanity with the thought of the upcoming week.

Finding that him and Weiss had abruptly stopped he realized they had finally made it to the hospital. Just like with most Atlesian buildings, it's stark whiteness perturbed Jaune, the sky scraper shaping of the roof reminding Jaune of its rather large size. The hospitals only distinguishing feature being the the bright red cross adorning the sideof the hospital just below the spires beginning, was a nice change of color from the rest of the 10 story building. From the outside Jaune could already make out which of the windows belonged to the many rooms of the rather broad building he was planning on visiting.

Jaune felt his arm being tugged slightly.

"You ready?" She asked.

"I've been ready" He said.

Making their way inside they strolled to the elevator and pressed the button to the highest floor, more commonly known as the intensive care unit ward. The floors had been divided by severity of injury. Bumps and bruises went to the lower floors, those requiring surgery went to the mid level flooring, and intensive care was relegated to the top floors. Being thrown into a coma after being a conduit for a Maidens stolen power certainly seemed worthy of intensive care to him. Arriving at the floor and stepping out they were greeted at the receptionists desk for the floor and a small waiting room.

"Hi, we're here for Miss Nikos" Jaune said, walking up to the counter.

"Milo or Akou?" The receptionist questioned back.

"Crocea Mors" Jaune replied back, being given the okay to proceed ahead as the girl behind the counter re holstered the pistol under her desk. Jaune had imagined Pyrrha would make some enemies after ruining Salems plans to overthrow Remnant. In that case he had devised security measures, put in place to help deter and or kill, any would be imposters trying to seek revenge for Salem or her organization. These same security measures had deterred one or two crazed fans seeking a private audience as well.

Walking to the end of the of the hallway and turning left, Jaune faced the wooden door and took a deep breath, turning the knob.


	7. Chapter 6 - Slumber

Jaune walked into the room taking in its familiarity. Everything was just as it had been since the last time he visited. Along the opposite wall of the door was a large window letting in the afternoon sun. Pyrrha's bed rested with its head at the right wall, the space to the right of the bed holding a wall of complex medical machinery designed to monitor Pyrrha's vitals, from her heartbeat down to any extra brain activity. The space to the left of the bed, the corner between the window and bed, held a chair next to the bed, a small table in the corner, and a small couch under the window. Other than those commodities the room seemed rather bare save for the TV on the opposite wall of the bed and the in room closet housing Pyrrha's clothing, should she ever wake up to them. Though Jaune doubted the girl he saw in the bed was the same Pyrrha he had been teammates with so many years ago.

Pyrrha's long hair was splayed out in a fan, tucked under her head. Her arms were free from her sides resting atop the sheets, an IV tube stuck into either forearm connecting to the machinery on the right. Even from the thick hospital blankets it was obvious the girl had lost a large majority of her muscle, her legs being reduced to skin and bone. Her skin wasn't much better, her whole body being a sickly white shade, losing its tan from the lack of training in the midday sun like they had both done for so long at Beacon.

"I assume everything is to your liking?" The physician said walking in. Jaune was startled by the sudden change of pace of the room.

"Well it's not exactly my room, but it'll do" Jaune said chuckling.

"Ha, well if me and Ms. Nikos could talk we wouldn't exactly be in this situation would we?" He said walking to the numerous panels on the wall.

Jaune looked solemnly at the girl, squeezing Weiss's hand. "Its fine Doc, everythings perfect. I know she would approve" He finished.

"I'm glad Mr. Arc" Doc said checking the clipboard he'd brought in.

Jaune and Weiss walked to the other side of the room, Jaune taking the chair beside Pyrrha's bed and Weiss taking the couch, using this time to catch up with Ruby and text her when to come over.

"Anything we should know about Doc?" Jaune asked from his chair.

"Nothing in particular" Doc said "We've picked up activity in her brain here and there but we've guessed that to be nothing more than stimuli from the light and...your visits."

The room had a certain air to it now. Even Weiss felt uncomfortable at the mention of any activity in the girl.

"So, she's awake?" Jaune asked.

"Yes and no" Doc said "Her aura recognizes yours whenever you're around. So naturally her body readies itself. Its like anticipating the arrival of family before christmas."

"So she knows when I'm here" Jaune pressed further.

"Again" Doc said "Maybe. Like I've said we've just guessed. I've been Ms. Nikos doctor for years now, and I'm still weary of saying exactly what this may be." He finished, flipping papers on his clipboard and peeking at the electronic charts on the medical equipment.

"Well, some news is better than no news i guess" Jaune said.

"Speaking of good news" Weiss said "Ruby is coming by sometime tonight to drop off her stuff and get set up." She said, clicking her phone closed.

"Sounds good" Jaune said "Maybe we actually get her acquainted with running water" He said laughing.

For the next few hours Jaune cared for Pyrrha as though she were a sister to him, brushing what hair he could get to outside of the pillow, massaging her legs to help maintain what little muscle she had, and monitoring the different activity levels connected to her vitals through the needles plugged into her veins. Seeing all of this, Weiss reminded herself why she had done all this for Jaune in the first place. After the countless hardships and trials Jaune had gone through, he deserved this. He deserved to have his best friend back, and to care for her. Even if she was confined to this bed, Jaune still seemed to love being here for her even if it was for a few hours.

After everything had been taken care of and Jaune speaking to Doc, the couple set out, arm in arm, again for home. Neither half of the couple saying much along the afternoon walk until Weiss pulled Jaunes arm closer to her.

"I'm sorry" She said

"What?"

"I'm sorry i can't do more for you" She repeated

"What do you mean Weiss?"

"I'm sorry i couldn't do more for her" She clarified "I know you care about her so much and i'm so sorry i can't do more to get her back for you"

"Weiss, you've done more for her than i ever could, who do you think is paying for that room? And her bills? Certainly not me" He said

"I know, but I couldn't bring her back" She said, tears slightly pooling in her eyes. "You sought her out for years and now you finally have her but she's bound to the hospital. I see how you care about her Jaune and I would give up everything to reunite you two"

"Weiss" Jaune said stopping "You did bring her back, you brought her further back more than I ever could. I would've never able to set her up with that kind of care. You've done more for her in these past few years than I could have ever done" He said pulling her closer so barely anyone could hear "And I love you so much for that" He finished, wiping her tears.

The rest of the walk home was spent in happy silence, as Weiss nuzzled closer to Jaunes arm before the two arrived home, to the familiar sight of a red cloak seated on the porch swing.

-X-

Sorry i haven't updated lately, i've been working on this chapter for like three weeks now and am having some serious writers block. The updates will come more frequently after November 3 since that's when Varsity season ends and i'll have the afternoons AND weekends to write and work on this an actually pour time into it. I've also had pneumonia for the past week so there's that too, yay (kill me).


	8. Chapter 7 - Old Friends, Same Memories

Ruby hopped off the porch swing with her rucksack greeting the couple as they came up the walk.

"Hope you two had fun on your little date" Ruby joked picking up her sack "I waited months for this and you two almost stood me up"

The mention of the word "date" causing both members of the party to drop each others arms

"We actually went to go see Pyrrha" Weiss said.

"Oh, um my bad" Ruby's demeanor visibly dropped "H-How is she doing"

"She's doing fine, the doctor sa-" Jaunes hand clamped over Weiss's mouth.

"Doctor said she's doing fine but some stuff has come along" Jaune said "You know, patient confidentiality and all that"

"Yeah I understand" The young huntress said mopping "Can I uh, go in now. I'm really tired"

"Yeah sure I'll unlock the door. Just go down this hall and keep following. Your room is next to Weiss's. I'm gonna talk with Weiss about the room arrangements out here for now"

"Thanks Jaune" She whispered, humping the bag onto her shoulder, walking inside.

Jaune closed the door, turning to Weiss who was visibly miffed at his previous actions.

"What was that about?"

"What?" He tried to play it off

"What you did!"

"Fine, I'm sorry. I was just trying to protect Ruby" He said pacing

"Protect her from what?"

Jaune sat down on the swing with his head in his hands, he lent back tossing his arms over the back of the swing.

"She still blames herself for what happened to Pyrrha, the night she was abducted."

Weiss was taken back to that night, the fire, the fights, the scream, and the flash of light atop the tower of Beacon. That was the night Pyrrha had been abducted by Cinder and her crew for use as a Maiden conduit. She knew Ruby had been slow to save Pyrrha but for the girl to hold such a grudge against herself for all these years seemed out of place. There was no way she could have blamed herself for this long. Could she?

"But why?" She said.

"Because in her words 'if she had just been a little bit faster all of this could've been avoided. RWBY would still be together and Pyrrha wouldn't be...like that''

"But everything worked out fine? Why is she so worried?" Weiss said walking over to Jaune and rocked on the swing with him trying to wrap her head around the conversation.

"Because it didn't work out in her head, yes Pyrrha's here and yes, we have her back, but not like how Ruby wanted, not like how Ruby imagined. She blames herself for what happened because she knew she could do better, but never did. If she found out Pyrrha had even the slightest chance of waking up, she would never be able to look her in the eyes."

It all made sense to Weiss. Ruby had always been keen on being a huntress and saving people. Rescuing civilians in a far off village was one thing, but having her academy attacked and one of her best friends abducted seconds before she could save her? That was something that no one should ever have to experience, Hunter or not. No wonder she blamed herself, if she couldn't save her friend, then what was the point of being a Huntress to her?

"How do you know all this? Has she been telling you?" She asked.

"Back when we were still team RNJR looking for Pyrrha, Ruby had nightmares all the time on the road about the event. She would wake up suddenly at night, startled and in a cold sweat. She'd wander off some nights and not come back until morning."

Weiss was all too familiar with the feeling.

"She though Pyrrha was gone for so long and had finally accepted her death like the rest of us a while later. That was, up until the point we found her a few years later. After that Ruby just shut down again. She had already copped with Pyrrha's 'death' once and wasn't wanting to experience that again."

Weiss sat stroking her arm on the swing as it gently rocked back and forth in the setting sun. She felt so bad now, never being told any of this. She never expected something like this to be hiding behind the happy-go-lucky smile of her team leader for so long.

Jaune reached over and squeezed her hand gently.

"Listen, you can't discuss any of this with Ruby. I spent years travelling with her and she still is uncomfortable talking about it with me of all people, i'm not sure how she would react after i spilt all of this to you, especially after what we learned with Pyrrha earlier. I just don't want her shutting down again."

Weiss took her hand on top of his and squeezed back. "Well, its alot to take in suddenly, but i promise. I won't talk to her until she is comfortable." The porch light flickered on in a brilliant white light and Weiss was suddenly reminded of the time.

Jaune stood stretching his arms and taking her hand to help her up.

"We should probably go in and get Ruby acquainted with the place. We don't exactly have any maps to give out to guests do we?" He asked chuckling.

"No." Weiss said before turning back to him. "Not except the one you made" She said before opening the door and walking in.

"Hey i'll have you know i only got lost three times ok! Three!" He said walking in after her and closing the door.


	9. Questions and Comments

This update is just to address the questions and comments I've gotten so far on the fanfic since I have no clue how to respond to individual comments daily (and because I love the attention lol).

Pyrrha will always be one of sticking points for any Jaune pairing, their relationship is such a fundamental part of their character. So Weiss worrying fits, even of it is unfounded because of there is one thing we know about Jaune is that he will be faithful. Pyrrha waking up is going to be rather interesting.

I'm quite pleased to see that you remembered that being in a coma means Pyrrha is wasting away. Many forget that. She will be in for a long road for recovery, but with Jaune and Weiss helping she will recover.

– Celestias Paladin

OH. MY. GOD. Thank you so much for pointing that out, I'm so glad someone recognized the degradation of Pyrrha and how I wrote it in. I get so mad when characters go into a coma in books and come out as jacked as Macho Man like nothing ever happened. That was actually one of the MANY writing points I wanted to give extra attention and detail. This WILL tie into the story later on I can guarantee you.

Really glad to see an update for this, its interesting to see that Jaune's feelings for Pyrrha is that of sibling affection as opposed to romantic interest, personally I'm glad that is the case making it a little different to to the typical Jaune /Weiss (although I'm a fan of arkos too). I wonder how it's going to pan out if Pyrrha wakes up. Look forward to the other sub plots and hope you're feeling better from your pneumonia.

– G-Unot

Aw I feel so good whenever people actually look forward to my updates. I've always liked the idea of a platonic Pyrrha and Jaune in white knight fanfictions as well mostly because it creates too much drama having Pyrrha and Weiss pine after Jaune. I wrote Jaune like this specifically to show how long he's cared for Pyrrha and that there is still material behind the front the two put on about "Jaune caring for and old friend in Atlas while living with Weiss". And Thank you for the well wishes, pneumonia is a bitch.

Another awesome chapter so far, the purpose of the bar in terms of having accumulated Huntsman knowledge is a bit unclear. Loved the ending with it being evident that Weiss was annoyed at Jaune being his oblivious self and making plans with our consulting his better half. Keep up the good work!

– G-Unot

I'll admit I got out of hand with the description of the outpost but that was simply to show how old the bar was compared to the city and just to give it a general atmosphere. I'm so glad people are noticing how I write Jaune and Weiss too. Writing characters is what takes up 80% of my time since I try to think of what they would say in a situation or how they would react. Weiss is always posh unless she's with Jaune or her team and Jaune is typically goofy until he's alone with Weiss.

Any way I wanted to address those few bigger comments and just get to know my readers. I actually really love writing this story but I just wish I had more time and energy to do it especially on the weekends. As I write this now I'm only about halfway through my Varsity season and if we don't qualify for the playoffs our season will end about November 3. Once we reach that point I'll have more time/energy in the afternoons to write and respond and so forth. Thank you guys so much for all the likes, favorites, and comments, it really pushes me to write more and write better as well. See you guys in the next chapter.

This update is just to address the questions and comments I've gotten so far on the fanfic since I have no clue how to respond to individual comments daily (and because I love the attention lol).

Pyrrha will always be one of sticking points for any Jaune pairing, their relationship is such a fundamental part of their character. So Weiss worrying fits, even of it is unfounded because of there is one thing we know about Jaune is that he will be faithful. Pyrrha waking up is going to be rather interesting.

I'm quite pleased to see that you remembered that being in a coma means Pyrrha is wasting away. Many forget that. She will be in for a long road for recovery, but with Jaune and Weiss helping she will recover.

– Celestias Paladin

OH. MY. GOD. Thank you so much for pointing that out, I'm so glad someone recognized the degradation of Pyrrha and how I wrote it in. I get so mad when characters go into a coma in books and come out as jacked as Macho Man like nothing ever happened. That was actually one of the MANY writing points I wanted to give extra attention and detail. This WILL tie into the story later on I can guarantee you.

Really glad to see an update for this, its interesting to see that Jaune's feelings for Pyrrha is that of sibling affection as opposed to romantic interest, personally I'm glad that is the case making it a little different to to the typical Jaune /Weiss (although I'm a fan of arkos too). I wonder how it's going to pan out if Pyrrha wakes up. Look forward to the other sub plots and hope you're feeling better from your pneumonia.

– G-Unot

Aw I feel so good whenever people actually look forward to my updates. I've always liked the idea of a platonic Pyrrha and Jaune in white knight fanfictions as well mostly because it creates too much drama having Pyrrha and Weiss pine after Jaune. I wrote Jaune like this specifically to show how long he's cared for Pyrrha and that there is still material behind the front the two put on about "Jaune caring for and old friend in Atlas while living with Weiss". And Thank you for the well wishes, pneumonia is a bitch.

Another awesome chapter so far, the purpose of the bar in terms of having accumulated Huntsman knowledge is a bit unclear. Loved the ending with it being evident that Weiss was annoyed at Jaune being his oblivious self and making plans with our consulting his better half. Keep up the good work!

– G-Unot

I'll admit I got out of hand with the description of the outpost but that was simply to show how old the bar was compared to the city and just to give it a general atmosphere. I'm so glad people are noticing how I write Jaune and Weiss too. Writing characters is what takes up 80% of my time since I try to think of what they would say in a situation or how they would react. Weiss is always posh unless she's with Jaune or her team and Jaune is typically goofy until he's alone with Weiss.

Any way I wanted to address those few bigger comments and just get to know my readers. I actually really love writing this story but I just wish I had more time and energy to do it especially on the weekends. As I write this now I'm only about halfway through my Varsity season and if we don't qualify for the playoffs our season will end about November 3. Once we reach that point I'll have more time/energy in the afternoons to write and respond and so forth. Thank you guys so much for all the likes, favorites, and comments, it really pushes me to write more and write better as well. See you guys in the next chapter.


	10. Chapter 8 - Revelations

Jaune walked down the hall not so pleased with how the evenings events had transpired. Weiss had already gone to bed and he was on his own now walking the halls thinking about the last few hours, about Pyrrha, about the mound of information he had dumped on him, and about the fragile state of Ruby. He somehow wished Weiss had relayed this to him earlier, one part of him deeply worried for Ruby, but another part wanting to push these thoughts to the back of his mind.

He wished Ruby didn't blame herself for what happened, Pyrrha had gone to fight Cinder on her own accord and she knew that. Jaune himself had barely been able to stop her before he was pushed away by her. He himself had always wondered why he had not fought harder to help her, but quickly realized he would have ended up in the same situation as her, leaving Weiss alone and afraid.

Jaune kept walking the halls of the manor, not wanting to go to sleep or even go near his room for the night, until he heard strange shuffling coming from behind his door as he passed Weiss's room. He knew Weiss was asleep and that Ruby should be fast asleep curled up in the guest room. Jaune crept up to his door, slowly unsheathing Crocea Mors, careful to not unfold the shield to avoid too much noise. Placing his hand gently on the door he prepared himself for whatever fiend lay beyond his door.

Jaune flung open the door pointing the sword directly at the intruder. The intruder that was supposed to be curled up asleep in the guest room.

"Yipe!" Ruby squeaked, dropping the photos in her hand.

"Ruby? What are you doing in my room?" Jaune said.

"You said to put my stuff down in the room next to Weiss's, down the hall?"

Jaune realized he hadn't said specifically which room on which side of the girls door to settle into and seems she had mistaken Jaunes room for the guests, rummaging through his things in the process. Much to his dismay it seems she had gone through one of the night stands, finding some sentimental pictures of him and Weiss he meant to keep hidden.

Ruby picked up said pictures and began to look them over again.

"I just found these pictures and thought it was weird that the guest room would have pictures like this of you and Weiss. She never wanted to go to the fair with me in Beacon."

Ruby was referring to the picture the couple had taken at the fair months ago. Weiss had her hair hidden by a beanie, obviously trying to disguise herself from the public eye, and was dressed in flannel and jeans with some sneakers. Weiss looked good in casual wear. Jaune had opted for his normal hoodies and jeans as well along with his typical combat boots and a backwards hat, his sword still strapped to his hip in the picture. The selfie picture had obviously been taken on Jaunes scroll from the way he held it so far above either of them, just barely revealing their interlocked fingers at the bottom of the photo.

"She never wanted to hold my hand either. Wait, why are you both holding hands in the first place?"

Jaune was nearly sweating bullets, but was so glad Ruby had maintained a level of innocence throughout her time as a Huntress.

"Well, we uh decided to act like a couple for the day. It would be kinda weird to have some scraggly blonde escorting this random girl around with a sword on his hip."

Jaune was almost visibly uncomfortable but could have played it off as just being tired. Ruby shuffled the photos around in her hand inspecting them from every angle diligently.

"Wow, Weiss never wanted piggy back rides from me either" She said, referring to the picture Jaune had taken of a very sleepy Weiss saddled on his back after a hard days work in her office, luckily he didn't have to lie for this one.

"Yeah, i remember that one" He said walking over, laughing and looking at it. "I took it as a sort of blackmail."

"Blackmail?"

"Yeah, in case she made me made do this again."

Jaune revealed the picture Weiss had taken of him in her makeup mirror, his face done up in full makeup, all familiar blue hues from Weiss's own pallet. From the position Weiss had over his shoulder, it seemed she could barely keep her own laughter in as Jaune sat on the bench, stern faced.

Jaune could barely snatch the photos from the girls hands before she collapsed from laughter, her feet flinging up into the air on her back. He managed to collect the spilt photos and the ones from his hands and stuff them back into the drawer before slamming it shut. Ruby got up off the floor before wiping a tear from her eye dramatically.

"Ok, that made my night much better" She said.

"As if it wasn't already good being back here" He said, leaning back on the night stand.

"Yeah. Hey, sorry about the thing with Pyrrha earlier. I didn't mean to sound depressed when you told me." She said, fidgeting with her fingers. "After everything we've gone through that was just kind of a shock to me. It didn't bring up the best memories either."

Rubys downed face was hidden by her cloak now but Jaune could still tell she was slightly upset, obviously revealing any weakness coming from her was very hard on the younger girl.

"Yeah, its not been sunshine and rainbows here either exactly." He said scratching his head.

"What do you mean?" She said peeking out from under her hood.

"Weiss has been having more nightmares about the Beacon Attacks. She won't say anything to anyone. Even me or Klein. I'm worried about her but she doesn't want to bring any of it up to anyone."

Ruby looked downwards towards her feet again and shuffled about again. Just like Jaune, this sudden influence of information suddenly disturbed her to a degree. She had been dealing with her own problems for so long that she had no idea how to imagine anyone else having these same problems, let alone Weiss Schnee.

"You don't think the news caught me off guard either? I'm not exactly ready to come face to face with my screw ups either." Jaune sat down on the bed and shrugged. "I could've fought harder for Pyrrha but I didn't, I just gave up and ran away. When we finally found her, part of me was overjoyed, another part of me wished she'd never wake up so I wouldn't have to face her."

"I'm sorry Jaune"

"What?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't faster. I'm sorry I couldn't save Pyrrha. Maybe if I had saved her" Ruby paused to sniffle and wipe her nose "You and Weiss wouldn't be going through this, and maybe team RWBY could still be together."

From Jaunes position on the bed he could see that Ruby's lip, and perhaps her whole body, was trembling.

"Ruby, it's fine, we're all dealing with things from that day still."

Jaune reached his hand out to the girl to comfort her, but as soon as his thumb seemed to graze her knuckles she wretched her hand away and almost tore her hood from her head completely.

"NO JAUNE IT'S NOT OKAY!" She yelled.

Jaune visibly recoiled. He himself couldn't tell if it was from the sudden outburst from the girl, or the inordinate amount of tears coming from her eyes.

"It's not okay Jaune! If I had been just a bit faster, I could've saved her, and you and her could've been happy! I wouldn't have put you through all those years of searching, and only to find Pyrrha as a shell! I know she loved you, and after seeing how heartbroken you were after The Fall, I knew it was all because of me."

Ruby seemed to break down there in front of the bed right onto her knees, her legs collapsing out from under her as she sobbed. Jaunes heart strings were being played like some kind of fiddle, and he knew that all too well. Admittedly he was upset when he realized Pyrrha had been "Killed" in The Fall. He had been heart broken to find Pyrrha all those years later, but Weiss had been there for him, letting their relationship grow and blossom between the two in that time. The love that he might have felt for Pyrrha at one point, had been given, dedicated even, to Weiss.

Jaune scooped up Ruby into his arms and gently shuffled out of his room, closing the door while the small girl sobbed into his shoulder. He walked down the hall cradling his friend in his arms, opening the door to the guest room besides Weiss's room. He gently her down on the guest bed and unclasped her hood, covering her with it like an impromptu blanket. Rubys sniffling slowed down and she cuddled into her blanket as Jaune turned towards the door before he could barely hear the girl whisper.

"Jaune, I'm tired."

"I know Ruby, I think we all are."

Ruby seemed to turn over and fall asleep immediately afterwards. Jaune closed the door behind him and started to walk down the hall before he decided to check on Weiss after the fiasco that just occured. Opening the door, Jaune discovered Weiss tossing and turning in her own bed. He sat there for a few seconds watching the girl seem to struggle with her dreams without him there to offer her help. He turned back and closed the door leaning his back against the outside.

"I think we're all tired Ruby, every one of us." He repeated before heading to his own room.


	11. Chapter 9 - Of Old Friends

Jaune woke to the sound of pounding on the front door of the Schnee Manor early in the morning. Throwing on his hoodie and shorts Jaune walked out of his room towards the front door. The pounding continued so loudly that even Weiss was walking out of her room, dressed in one of Jaunes t-shirts with her rapier in hand.

"Weiss can you please not spear anyone this early in the morning?"

"They interrupted my beauty sleep. They know what's coming to them."

As Weiss and Jaune seemed to close in on the front door the pounding seemed to get worse, and occasional talking could be heard behind the door. A few sentences were said outside the door and a few rapid bangs followed. Jaune slowly started to get more and more agitated. Who was banging on his door this early in the morning? More importantly, who was brave enough to just waltz up to the Schnee Manor of all places and halfway demand to be let in?

By the time Jaune had gotten to the door it seemed as if the wooden door might crack under all the pressure it was under from the intruder on the other side.

"Seriously, who could possibly be here this early?" Jaune said opening the door.

"I could, vomit boy." Yang said, leaning on the doorway pulling her glasses from her face.

"Oh no" Jaune said.

"Oh no" Weiss said.

"Oh yes" Blake said, walking up the path behind Yang.

"Wait, you guys weren't supposed to be here for a few more days. What gives?" Weiss asked, all giddy.

Blake set their bags down and began. "Well we decided against the cab and bus schedules and took Yangs bike instead. What would've taken us three or four days of driving at the speed limit, took us only about maybe a day at twice that on her bike."

"Hey we got here with time to spare didn't we?" Yang retorted.

"Yes, but with significantly more traffic tickets than riding a bus."

The whole group laughed a bit at Yangs expense. Jaune finally had time to take in the new looks of his two pseudo teammates.

Blake was now dressed in a more casual pairing of shin high boots and blue jeans along with a fluffy white sweater. Jaune was glad the girl had gone for a more subtle look from her Beacon days. It really showed how she had matured as the leader of Menagerie. Her hair was longer now, as well, down to her waist and was much more wavier. She still had Gambol shroud, tied up and set atop her bags on the front porch. Mature, that's what stuck out to Jaune.

Yang on the other hand though.

Yang had chopped off all her hair, up to just below her ears, where her curly hairs licked at her jaws and chin. Jaune couldn't believe what he was staring at, the girl who had once been so protective of her gorgeous hair, only to go and chop it off. Her style though had rarely changed since Beacon.

She had her typical leather boots on with a pair of black leggings. She was still wearing the leather jacket she had taken after Beacon, now unzipped it showed off her typical yellow tank top, the sleeve of the jacket still rolled down to conceal her robotic arm.

"Hey, vomit boy, how about you stop ogling me and start focusing on ice queen there, since she's the one thats wearing your shirt."

Jaunes attention was immediately redirected to the girl next to him who was now nervous under the eyes of everyone at the door wondering why she, Weiss Schnee of all people, was wearing any sort of clothing belonging to Jaune Arc. Luckily Weiss was quick witted after all her time around the boy.

"Its a form of rent payment, for an oversized shirt I feed him, house him, and don't make him sleep in the servants quarters." She said very smuggly. The entire group laughed a bit more before being invited in by Jaune to put their bags away and settle down.

Weiss eventually put away her weapon and got a bit more appropriately dressed, in sweatpants and a good sized t-shirt, before showing the two girls the last guest room. After setting their bags in the room closest to Ruby's, Yang was immediately tackled by the smaller girl.

"YANG!"

"RUBY!"

The two girls shared a strong hug before picking themselves off the floor.

"Yang all your hair's gone!" The sister had apparently not been told of the change beforehand.

"Yeah sis, and apparently you found it all." Yang quipped, addressing the tangled mess that was Ruby's undone braid from the night before which practically reached to her waist.

"Oh, I guess I need to take care of that, i'll meet you guys for breakfast in a bit." Ruby then ran back into her room to shower.

Jaunes stomach immediately growled at the thought of food this early on the morning.

"Yeah, that actually doesn't sound too bad right about now. I'll go ask Klein what's on the menu this morning." With that Jaune left the three girls to each other in the hallway.

"So" Yang said "A shirt hmm?"

"Yang Xiao Long I will not put up with your antics this early in the morning, especially after practically pounding my door into splinters."

Weiss then started to walk down the hall with the girls before Blake snickered.

"Looks to me that the door's not the only thing being pounded to pieces."

Weiss turned on her heel and seemed to inspect the girl closely.

"Is this your doing Yang? These puns? That pun was Xiao Long quality, it has to be your doing."

Yang pretended to wipe a tear. "it's certainly not my doing but I sure am proud."

Eventually coming to the dinning hall and sitting down, the girls were joined by their youngest teammate, her hair still slightly wet and kept up in a towel that reached her waist. Hearing the commotion Jaune wheeled out a tray of breakfast foods, stacking them high on the table. Each member of the group piled their individual plates high with breakfast foods before chowing down and catching up.

"So Yang, what's up with the hair situation?" Jaune asked between chewing on sausage links.

"Well long hair and Combat Instruction Classes don't exactly go hand in hand these days, especially with all the first years coming in. After I lost the first few inches to an out of control sword and burned off a few more from an exploding dust vial, I decided this was the best path."

"Well it doesn't look terrible, i'll give you that."

"It never did, thank you very much." She said very matter of factly.

The table laughed again before attention was redirected. This time to the youngest of the team mates.

"How long you been here Rubes?" Yang asked.

"Mmph?" Ruby responded, looking up with a mouthful of pancake. After some difficulty Ruby swallowed the mouthful of pancakes. "I got here a few days ago, before Jaune and Weiss went...out for a bit." Ruby seemed to stare for a few seconds afterwards.

"Oooooooo, going out huh???" Yang teased.

"Yeah, we went out to the hospital for a bit, we went to visit Pyrrha for a few hours." Weiss said, a bit stern.

"Oh. I'm sor-"

"It's fine Yang." Jaune interrupted "You didn't know."

Blake was the next to speak. "So how is her prognosis?"

Jaune sat down his fork and knife and set his head into his hands. He sat there for a few seconds taking in the question.

"Thats a great question Blake, and I wish I could tell you the answer honestly."

He brought his head up from his hands and looked to Weiss and back to everyone.

"From what the doctor said, somehow she is responding to my occasional visits, she's able to detect my Aura and know when i'm around. Because of this the Doc doesn't know when she'll wake up. All we do know is that she's there pertially."

The entire table fell silent for a few seconds, before Blake spoke what seemed to be on everyone's mind.

"Can we please see her?"

Jaune looked over to Weiss and she sat a hand on his shoulder. He took a deep breath.

"Yeah, yeah you can. If you all are done with breakfast grab your jackets and we can go now actually."

All three girls pushed away from the table and went to grab their jackets, almost trampling each other getting to the guest rooms. He waited until he knew all the girls were down the hall and out of earshot of him and Weiss.

"I'm sorry for ruining this time with your team by going to see Pyrrha. Again." Jaune said standing up.

Weiss grabbed his hand before he could stand up. "They're your teammates as much as mine Jaune, I knew they were going to want to see Pyrrha eventually and I have no problem with. She means as much to them as she does to you. Trust me."

Jaune looked at the hall door and back to Weiss, grabbing her cheeks in his palms. "Thank you" He said, kissing her forehead.

"Come on." Weiss said standing up, grabbing her jacket from the seat "Lets not keep them waiting."

The two walked into the hall and towards the front door. Each girl had their jackets on and were waiting at the door like a pack of dogs.

"Everyone ready?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, lets go." Ruby said, opening the door and taking off down the street, her friends in tow.


	12. Chapter 10 - Friends Again

The group walked down the sidewalk to the hospital, everyone seeming merry to be back together again. The air had gotten colder than the rest of the team was used to so all the girls were huddled together walking. Atlas was slowly sinking into its winter months and it was quite obvious with all the decorations lining the streets. Ruby almost had to dragged down the street or else she would have stopped at every store to admire the decorations.

Jaune and Weiss were a few feet behind the group talking between each other, celebrating the time together.

"I'm sorry we have to waste time going to see Pyrrha while your team is here." Jaune said.

"Jaune, time spent well is time not wasted. I'm enjoying every second of this, well every second i'm not the one having to rain in Ruby that is." She said referring to the girl who having to be almost carried by Yang and Blake by this point.

"Ha, I guess you're right. I'm glad we're getting to spend time with them too. It's been too long since both the teams have been together. I feel bad on Ren and Nora missing out on all this now."

"Well it would be difficult for them to get out with the winter months now. I'm sure we'll see them sometime soon anyway. They do run an entire frontier town Jaune."

Jaune sighed and look around at the town. "Yeah, i remember. It's kind of weird to think about where everyone is now don't you think?"

"I suppose."

"You know I never figured I'd be THE personal bodyguard to Ms. Weiss Schnee of the SDC. Jaune Arc, the bumbling idiot who barely had a landing strategy."

"Ugh don't remind me." Weiss said locking arms with Jaune.

"Hey!" Jaune said pinching her side.

"Ow! Ok!. I didn't hear you complaining when you were 'offered' the position." She said.

"It comes with its perks." He said

"Hmm and what might those be Mr. Arc?"

"Room and board, hot meals, clothing..."

He received a glaring look from Weiss as these comments continued.

"Anything ELSE Mr. Arc?"

"A great view in the mornings, noons, and especially nights." He delivered with a wink.

Weiss was flustered at this answer and Jaune seemed to get an especially good laugh from it.

"Hey guys is that the hospital?" Ruby yelled over her shoulder to Jaune.

"Wow." He said. "I guess we're already here. That was quick."

"Yeah, especially when your having your own little convo back there without us." Yang said walking up to the front door.

"Ill have you know Yang we were discussing what to do this evening since we're not accustomed to having so many mouths to feed, even if they are rather annoying mouths." Weiss retorted.

"Allright, allright, chillout Weiss-cream. What room Jaune?" Yang said taking off down the hall past the front desk.

"We need to take the elevator up to the ICU."

"The ICU?" She said.

"Yeah, i'm not sure if i told you all but we had to put her into intensive care after all the procedures were done and the doctors cleared her to be around other patients. The ICU is on the very top floor and is the most guarded, mostly because of Pyrrhas condition."

"Closely guarded? You make it sound like she's in prison?"

"No nothing close to that. That's just how ICU is, but because of Pyrrhas status as a Huntress and a few security breaches we've had there's a little more security than normal." He continued speaking while the team waited on the elevator to arrive.

"Security breaches?" Blake asked.

"Adoring fans, poparazzi, news outlets, the occasional follower of Cinder or Salem wanting revenge." He said as the group crowded onto the elevator.

"Wow thats a little insane."

"Yeah, we've had people go so far as to pretend to he Hunters and obtain Hunters Badges just to get a chance to see her."

"Ok thats a little more than insane."

"Yeah you're telling me." He said. "It gets boring having to kick people out of a hospital room." He said laughing.

At that moment the elevator opened to the top floor and the whole group stepped out onto the floor into the main lobby.

"Oh, Mr Arc, back so soon?" Said the receptionist from her spot behind the counter. As the group walked up she eyed the new figures.

"Yeah, the rest of the team came in and wanted to check on Pyrrha. We'll only be here for a few minutes."

"That sounds pleasant Mr. Arc. The rest of your team is already in Ms. Nikos room visiting her."

Jaune paused, deftly aware of the words. "The...rest?"

The receptionist looked confused. "I, um yes, the rest of your team. They came through here and showed me their badges."

Jaune leaned over the counter. "The 'rest of my team' is nowhere near Atlas. They're in a frontier town."

The receptionist looked shaken. "I'm - I'm sorry Mr. Arc but the badges they provided checked out. I looked through the Hunters database and everything."

Jaune clenched his fists. 'They're getting better, they must have stolen my team's identity.' He thought to himself.

The receptionist looked like she might break down. "I-I'm sorry Mr. Arc everything checked out I'm sorry."

"It's fine we'll take care of this." He said turning to the group with a low voice. "No one make a scene ok?" He said and everyone nodded. "Get your weapons ready, but don't pull them out until we get to the room, let's not get security on our backs." Jaune put his hand on the hilt of his sword and marched to the room, everyone else a few feet behind, the sound of hammers priming and steel clinking following them.

Jaune arrived at the door and faced the group again. Weiss didn't think she had ever seen him this stern. "We don't know what we're dealing with here. They're smart enough to somehow get badges that fooled the database. These could be serious scum. Let me go in first and see what we're dealing with before we go flying in, got it Yang?" Jaune looked to her wrists which, once before held golden tickling bracelets, now held sizable yellow gauntlets. "Fine." She said stowing the bracelets.

Jaune braced an arm against the door, and threw it open letting the door clatter into the wall, keeping his hand on the hilt of Crocea Mors as he stomped inside. "Alright who the-" Jaune faced the two figures by the bed. The solem one clad in green and black and the animated figure in the pink and silver.

"Jaune?"

"Ren!?"

"NORA!" The animated Huntress yelled popping up between the two.

"What-What are you two doing here?" He asked.

"Me and Nora got a call from a certain Dust corporation and were flown out here a few days ago. We were told to come here this morning to meet up with you all."

Jaune turned to look and Weiss whos cheeks had darkened several shades. "I told you we might see them soon." She said. Before anything else could be spoken Jaune bounded forward and swept Weiss off her feet swinging her around the room. After a few rounds he set Weiss down and looked at her again. "Well i've got my team and you've got yours, I guess i'll let you all catch up now. It's going to be amazing having you two here." Weiss said to Ren and Nora. After all the 'Hellos' were said team RWBY left the room to let the old team catch up with one another. Silence filled the room before Jaune could speak.

"So, what brings you two here?" Jaune asked.

"Like i said, your employers Dust corporation Jaune." Ren joked.

"Oh, ha, yeah my bad." Jaune took this second to look over the rooms newest occupants. Ren hasn't changed much. His hair still quite long down his back, except for instead of his combat attire he wore a minimalist vest and suit shirt with slacks, all of it being darker shades of green and black. Nora, obviously being herself, had not changed either. Her fluffy skirt had been swapped for a knee length pink skirt and pink suit jacket. Both carried their roles of leaders professionally

"And what exactly brings you here Jaune?!" Nora retorts bubbly.

"A team and a half of hyperactive Huntress's and the need to get out of the house." He said.

"Sounds like a good enough reason. I know that all too well." Ren said looking to Nora who pouted.

Ren went back to his place by the bedside while Nora relinquished herself to the couch with Jaune coming to stand next to Ren.

"I know this may be a sensitive subject Jaune, but may I ask how Pyrrhas progress is?" The stoic man said.

"It's not worse if that's what you're asking Ren." He joked.

"You seem apprehensive when you say that Jaune."

Jaune took a few seconds to look Pyrrha over. She was the same as ever in her hospital bed. Pristine couldn't begin to describe it.

"I've gotten word from the doctors that Pyrrhas aura is coming back."

"Sounds good." Ren said.

"Yeah it does, she's even started recognizing me and my Aura from how much I come here. Doc says theres a chance of her waking up, i'm not sure when."

"Jaune, that's great news. You still seem put off by it though."

Jaune thought for a few moments. Everything in the world had changed so drastically since the last time him and Pyrrha had talked face to face in Beacon.

"I just...I don't know what to do when she wakes up Ren. So much has changed since Beacon, she's not going to know anything. Salem is dead and Cinder is defeated, The White Fang have been all but extinguished, and we've all moved on with our lives. I don't know how i'm gonna tell her about the fighting, about Yang's arm, about the deaths of everyone at Beacon, about the countless battles we fought to find her and defeat Salem over the years." He said. 'More importantly, I don't know how i'm going to tell her about me and Weiss.' He thought to himself.

Ren turned and laid his hand on Jaunes shoulder, looking him directly in the eye. "Alot of things have changed Jaune, yes, but there's plenty that has stayed the same. You're still her teammate and partner, but most importantly you're still her friend. She is still going to need you to be there for her and i'm sure she will listen to you and let you help her along the way."

"Yeah Jaune! Besides you've got me, Ren, and the entire rest of team RWBY to help you AND Pyrrha. Everything will be fine for our fearless leader." Nora said hugging into Jaunes side.

"Thanks guys, I needed that." He said.

"So how goes everything with team RWBY? I noticed when you stormed in here that the entire team managed to make it." Ren said.

"Yeah it's been nice having the team around. I surprised Weiss meeting with Ruby a few days ago and Yang and Blake showed up a few days afterwards, a little early. Yang figured driving her bike would cut a few hours off a bullhead flight. It probably netted her a few more tickets though, and plenty of nagging from Blake." He and Ren laughed.

"That certainly sounds like her." The suited man said.

"Well, now that all the sad and sappy talk is over what's next leader?" Nora bubbly said.

"I'm not sure actually. Me and Weiss were discussing dinner coming here. How does that sound to you two?" He responded.

"Oooooh that sounds fantastic!" Nora exclaimed. "I could go for a bite." Ren said.

"Alright, I guess that settles dinner plans then." He said. "Nora go ahead and peak out and tell Weiss and the rest of the team what the plan for dinner is if you don't mind, she's gonna have to make reservations probably."

"No problem Jauney!" And with that Nora zipped out the room into the waiting area.

A few seconds of silence permeated the room before Jaune spoke again.

"It really is good to have you two here again Ren. I'm glad we were able to get the teams back together." He looked to Pyrrha. "Even if it is under times like this."

"I'm glad to be back as well Jaune." Ren put his hand back on the railing of the bed. "I'm sure Pyrrha wouldn't want you to worry though, with us being here."

"Yeah, your right. Come on dude let's go see what everyone wants for dinner."

"Sounds great Jaune."

With that the two remaining team members walked out of the hospital room and away from the rhythmic ticking of the heart beat, ignoring the slight dip on the screen reading out Pyrrhas Aura level as Jaune closed the door behind him.


End file.
